


This Christmas (It's the perfect holiday)

by ShlynneAsh



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Christmas, First Kiss, Fluff, Flustered!Nico, Hot!Will, How Do I Tag, M/M, No Smut, endless pining, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28110297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShlynneAsh/pseuds/ShlynneAsh
Summary: I wanted to write a Christmas thing, so here we are.There's a Christmas eve party at camp half-blood, and Will is heavily questioning his feelings about a certain son of Hades. Again. Everyone is sick of them dancing around each other--it's time someone took action. This Christmas they were going to finally get these two oblivious dorks together.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Abduction

**Author's Note:**

> For AvacadoEthusiast0811. Thank you for being so awesome. I promise I'll finish that drawing for you.
> 
> To all you other folks reading this, hello. Welcome to Christmas Solangelo.

Will smiled thankfully at the son of Hades when he passed some bandages, then turned back to the Demeter kid. Somehow they’d managed to impaled their leg on a branch while falling of a pegasus. Will had a sneaking suspicion that campers were finding more and more creative ways to get hurt. Just the other week ago someone had gotten themselves so hopelessly tangled in the climbing wall nets that they’d had to cut him out. The athena cabin was already working on a replacement--until then the climbing wall was closed. Which left Will actually free time and room to breathe. More time to hang out with his friends.

Lately, Nico had been helping a lot in the infirmary, and Will couldn’t be happier. He’d kept Nico in the infirmary for a few days after the war with Gaia; it had been a smart move. If Nico had used his powers another time without proper treatment, he might have faded into darkness. And not to insult a Roman predator, but Reyna’s stitching on the werewolf claw marks weren’t exactly sterile. Even though he had Nico in the infirmary to see to his wounds--his company had been nice too. After so long of wondering what talking to him would be like. 

Will knew he liked Nico. It’d been a long road of confusion before he realized that people normally don’t think about people they were friends with for like a week everyday for years. Well, maybe not everyday. They argued, and talked, and occasionally the silence wasn’t awkward--but it was more than he could ask for. 

“You’re good to go,” Will said to the Demeter kid. “I gave you plenty of ambrosia so it should heal quickly, but try and stay off that leg for a while will you? I don’t want to see you back here in the next hour.” He helped them up and ushered them out the door. He closed the door behind them and sighed, then when he opened his eyes he studied Nico’s face for the barest moment. 

His dark eyes were filled with amusement, and a smile played on his lips. “What are you laughing at?” Will grumbled.

Nico’s almost smile fell back to his normal impassive frown. Will silently cursed himself. “Who said I was laughing?” Nico said.

Will internally sighed again. He might lose it with this boy. “Your face did, di Angelo. Anyway, sorry that took so long,” Will said with an over exaggerated apologetic smile. 

Nico shrugged and muttered a “don’t call me that.” Which Will blatantly ignored. 

“Want to go do something? No pegasus riding though. I want to be far, far away from any more accidents.” Will glanced up to Kayla who was sifting through some papers. “Because it’s not my shift anymore,” Will said loudly. Kayla rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. 

Will looked back to Nico. His face hadn’t changed but the amusement was back in his eyes. “Actually I’m going to go train, I haven’t practiced my sword in a while. I’ll see you later,” Nico said with a wave--already heading for the door. 

Will’s heart sank a little bit, but he plastered a smile to his face. “Okay! See you later, Death Boy.”

“Don’t call me that,” Nico growled, much louder that time. Which would have been threatening to anyone but Will. Nico walked faster.

“Don’t get hurt!” Will called, and Nico was gone. Will managed not to sigh. 

“You’re hopeless,” Kayla said behind him. 

Will whirled around. “Excuse me?” He demanded. Of course he knew exactly what she was talking about, but it didn’t hurt his dignity to deny anything.

She shrugged. “He’s never going to notice your flirting. Why don’t you just ask him out?” 

Will groaned. “It’s not that simple, I-”

“It _is_ that simple Will,” Kayla chirped. “And don’t tell me you can’t ask him out because it might ‘ruin our friendship.’” She stared at him pointedly. Will closed his mouth and crossed his arms in an unconscious imitation of Nico. She rolled her eyes again. “What about the Christmas eve party?”

Will couldn’t say he hadn’t thought about it. Colored lights, soft music, it’d be a nice first date. But he didn’t just want to ask Nico out. He wanted-- _needed_ everything to be perfect. He was only fifty percent sure Nico liked him back anyway. “I can’t,” Will mumbled. 

Kayla gave him a long impassive look, then stood up and seized his arm. “Wha-hey! Where are we going?” Kay;a started dragging him out of the Big House. “What about the infirmary?”

“Oh please,” Kayla said. “I won’t be gone long--besides. You need help.”

“I don’t need help from you. Especially not on my love life,” Will said, though he still let himself be dragged.

Kayla shook her head. “Not from me.”

Will suddenly dug his heels into the ground. He would _not,_ under any circumstances, go to the Aphrodite cabin for help with this. “No,” Will said. “No, no, no, no.”

Kayla tugged his arm--moving him much slower than before. “Come--on--Will!”

“No! I’m not letting you drag me to the Aphrodite cabin. Uh-uh. Not happening.”

“Gods, you’re so stubborn,” Kalya said, still tugging. Will found he was stumbling forward too much, so he just went limp. She let out an exaggerated _oof_ as she caught him. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” A voice said behind them. Will tensed.

“Lacy, oh thank the Gods,” Kalya said. “I need to get Will here to your cabin.”

He could hear the confusion in her voice when she spoke. “Why?”

“He needs some… advice.” Will groaned loudly, but the reality of the situation was starting to sink in and his face was getting hot. At least Nico was at the training arena. 

He could _feel_ Lacy’s face break out into a wicked grin. She took his other arm and together, they dragged him kicking and yelling toward the Aphrodite cabin. No one blinked twice. It was a natural occurrence at camp half-blood. Cecil stood close, but when he went to ask fro help he grinned his famous Hermes smile and shook his head. Will thought he saw a few knowing smirks in the passing crowds.

He had already lost all hope of breaking free once they reached the door. He just let them drag him uncomfortably into the checkered walls. Once they got inside, Kayla dumped him with a, “He’s all yours. Go easy on him, he’s oblivious” and strided right back into the Big House. Will just lay on the ground of the cabin--that smelled like heavy perfume, but what was he expecting?--and stared at the lights. He enjoyed the moment of quiet for about a second before Aphrodite camper swarmed him.

“So what do you need? Outfit advice?”

“Obviously he needs romantic advice, stupid.”

“Will? Is he okay? He looks hot.”

Will took deep breaths to keep himself in check, but he was just about losing it. A girl giggled. “Hot?”

“You know what I mean!” Came an exasperated reply. How many campers were in their cabin? It was the middle of the day for goodness sake, shouldn’t they be at art and crafts or something?

The cabin argued, but one of them helped Will into a sitting position before correcting his sibling’s statement. Will squeezed his eyes shut. 

“What do you need, Will?” Tons of campers came to the Aphrodite cabin for advice. It wasn’t new. 

“Is that Will Solace? What’s he doing here?”

“Don’t know, but his sister just dragged him in. Probably another hopeless romantic.” What would cause attention would be if he refused to be fussed about. 

“Okay,” Will said quietly. The commotion around him died down. “I need help.” He opened his eyes to find everyone standing before him, staring curiously. He blushed and looked away. “With a boy.”

The moment of silence was broken by a squeal. Will couldn’t tell who it was--if it was only one person. Lacy swooped down and grabbed his arm, hauling him up. “Is it Nico?” She asked. And maybe it was because she didn’t even have to ask, she just knew, that made Will blush harder than he had in a long time. Another collective squeal. He sent a silent prayer to whatever god or goddess was listening. _Help me._

After they all had their fair share of screaming and jumping and sighing, the ones that were willing to help sat in a semi-circle around him. Waiting. Will cleared his throat. “Um…” he said smartly. “Now what?”

“Tell us what it’s like!” A girl in the back laughed, as if that was obvious. There were a few collective nods.

He was going to curse Kayla with rhyming couplets for a week after this. “Well… Nico’s really sweet, and people don’t really see that about him. He’s really powerful and-”

“Noooo,” they groaned, but then they laughed. 

“You have to tell us what it’s like _for you._ Don’t tell us about him. Tell us about _you,_ ” Lacy prompted.

“Oh,” Will said. He didn’t know the first thing about any of this. Maybe he’d been wrong about giving this a chance. It wasn’t too late, he could still run out the door. But what good would that do? “Well I’ve had a crush on him for a long time. Whenever he’s around me I feel happier--and I want to make him feel wanted.”

“Aww,” a girl said. It was the same girl from before. He thought he could identify her name as Rose but he wasn’t sure. “ _Il est tellement parti._ ” The camper next to her nodded. Will frowned. Was that french? He’d forgotten all the children of Aphrodite could speak fluent French.

“And what do you want to do about it?” The unusually quiet Valentina Diaz said. 

Will hung his head. “I wasn’t going to do anything. He’s really dense.” 

Rose blew hair out of her face, “ _Et toi aussi,_ ” she said. The group laughed, and Will half-heartedly glared at her. “Ask him out to the Christmas eve party!” she exclaimed.

Everyone nodded and grinned.

“I _can’t,_ ” Will said miserably. 

Valentina stood and yanked him up too, already pulling him towards the bathroom. “Then you don’t have to.” The other campers followed, snickering.

“I don’t?” Will said, surprised. Suddenly he felt nothing at all like a head counselor, and every bit the younger sibling. He hadn’t felt this way since Micheal and Lee. He shook his head to clear those thoughts; Micheal was dead, Lee was dead. There was nothing Will could do. “Why not?” They seated him at a stool in front of the mirror. Only the Aphrodite cabin would take up space with a stool in front of the mirror. He tried to turn his head to look at someone in his entourage, but Valentina turned hs head to the mirror, and locked eyes with him through the reflective glass. 

“Because you’re going to look so good, he won’t be able to resist you,” she affirmed.


	2. Separation (I miss you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will was given three rules to follow. It's annoying, but he thinks it might be worth it.
> 
> Nico doesn't understand his feelings for Will, and he hates social interaction...but maybe he should go to the party.
> 
> (Switches between Will and Nico's pov)

Nico hadn’t seen Will Solace in forever. Well. He’d seen him across the green yesterday, and his face turned a bright red--at least from what Nico could tell so far away--before he turned the other way and ran. He slowly had lowered the hand he put up to wave, and cursed his feet that faltered. He hadn’t seen the son of Apollo since. Sometimes he would catch demigods seeing Nico, then dashing off in alarm as if they just spotted the enemy. He was tired of it.

Hadn’t Will wanted to hang out? Did Nico make him mad somehow? The worst part, he thought, was how much it bothered him. So what if Will wasn’t talking to him? He was sure that Will wouldn’t have stayed around as long as he did for so long. Though time and time again, Will had made it achingly clear how he wouldn’t just leave him… To be honest? It scared Nico how much he believed it.

He knew from past experiences--everyone leaves. At some point or another. Nico groaned, and fell back onto his bed. He really couldn’t see why this was a problem, or why it was even happening so suddenly.

“Nico?” A voice chirped pleasantly, causing Nico to jump and stand at the ready. A misty rectangle hung in the air showing the face of his sister, Hazel. Her cinnamon curls dripped as if she had just splashed them with water. Nico loosed his defensive stance and smiled.

“Hey, Hazel.” She looked delighted he had noticed her.

“Reyna!” She yelled to the side. “It worked!” Nico heard some shuffling and the connection got fuzzy for a moment before evening back out. “Oops. Sorry. Reyna’s holding the water,” Hazel said sheepishly. “She says hello.”

Nico slowly sat back down. “Tell her I say hi, too.” Hazel grinned and did just that. It’d been at least a week, maybe two, since Nico had seen his friends from Camp Jupiter. When the summer had ended, the majority of camp left for college (like Percy and Annabeth. He hoped Percy wasn’t stressing out too bad on his grades), and the roman demigods had left for their own camp. It had left Nico at camp with only one person he knew.

“So, how have you been?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Nico said.

“That’s good. Things have been a little busy here. Everyone’s getting ready for the Christmas convivium.”

“They should be training!” Reyna shouted a little too loud from the side, which made Hazel flinch. “But it’s within city limits and Frank said we should go with it.”

Hazel’s smile became a little dangerous. “I may have had something to do with that…” she whispered. “Isn’t there a Christmas party at camp half blood too?”

Nico blinked. “Yeah, it’s all anyone is talking about. I don’t think I’m going to go though. There’s just going to be a lot of lights and christmas music.”

Hazel takes a second to look Nico up and down. “Nico, I think you should go.”

“I second that!” Reyna called, making Nico frown.

“Why? No one will notice if-”

“It’s not about the other people!” Reyna says, then the iris message goes fuzzy again as she switches places with Hazel. Now Reyna’s standing in her full praetor armor, and her hands on her hips. It was a relief to see her face again, as much as it was Hazel’s, even if he was being told to attend a party he had no interest in. “It’s about you, so just give it a chance! Make some new friends! Live a little! Life isn’t supposed to be spent running for your life,” she said jokingly.

It sounded too eerily familiar to everything Will usually said to him, which made his neck and face heat up. Suddenly he felt as he has been lying when he had said nothing at all. “I’m not running for my life anymore! I even get enough sleep nowadays.” Thanks to Will that is; one of the first things he set to fixing was Nico’s sleep schedule. “And I have some friends here already.” Reyna fixed him with a stare. Nico didn’t say anything--he just sat in the silence and stared her right back down.

“The healer?” Reyna finally said, albeit reluctantly.

“What about him?”

“That’s your only friend?” Nico didn’t want to admit that. Surely there was someone else he’d talked to enough to call a friend. He racked his brain and found… nothing. He hardened his glare at her. She sighed exasperatedly, but still smiled. “Alright,” she said. “Whatever you say. Anyway, how’s the camp doing? We aren’t going to need to come save your butts again, will we?”

Nico talked to them for a good long while, he even laughed a little bit. It was so natural to talk to them, and it felt familiar in a way he hadn’t felt very often since Bianca. He was sad when they had to part ways--but he promised he’d call them soon. He sat in his contentment for a moment before he started thinking about the Christmas party. Could it really be that bad to just listen to music and drink strawberry punch for a few hours? Nico sighed and made a silent agreement to attend, maybe Will would be there.

~

Will hated every single one of the rules the Aphrodite cabin had given him. Each was just supposed to make his life miserable.

_“Number one,” Lacy said while working a shine product into his hair. “Don’t talk to him before the party.”_

_“What?” Will exclaimed. “Why?” “Because, if you make him miss you, you’ll look even better in his eyes.”_

_“Oh.”_

He’s kept his word. Will had tip-toed, sneaked, and flat out ran to stop Nico from seeing him. He thought he might as well be tearing his feelings straight from his chest. He couldn’t get the image of Nico standing across the green as he lowered his hand in disappointment. Or how halfheartedly he trained with his sword. Not that Will had been watching or anything.

_“And number 2. When you see him, compliment him. Make him feel special.”_

Well, that was easy enough. Nico looked beautiful every day, he just had to work up the courage to voice those thoughts. Somehow.

_“And rule 3 is the most important. You can’t just look the part, act the part. You are Will Solace, son of Apollo, head counselor, and head healer.” Valentina said, stopping to look me in the eye. Apparently she was using permanent make-up to add a blush and rosy-lips. Contrary to the name it would only last for the next week. “Go get your boy.”_

At the memory, Will touched his lips. When he looked in the mirror, he was astonished at the difference. He still looked… like himself per say, but he looked better. A lot better. He would never make fun of the Aphrodite cabin for wearing make-up ever again. This was a crazy confidence booster.

Honestly, Will couldn’t wait for Christmas eve. Maybe, just maybe, it would be that easy to sway Nico.

He was cut from his romantic thoughts when Lou Ellen and Cecil burst into his the infirmary laughing. “Oh my god did you see-” Cecil snorted. “Yeah, yeah, I did. Priceless.” And they broke into another fit of laughter. Will finished straightening the place out before turning to his friends.

“Do I even wanna know?” Lou Ellen shook her head. “Okay, then. Are you hurt? Otherwise get your butts out of here.”

They both pouted. “Aww, but Will…” Cecil started, drawing out his name. “We’re your friends, we want to help you.” His voice sounded like a bad imitation of his own, and to further his suspicions, Cecil flashed a grin at Lou Ellen. He didn’t know if he should trust them at all, but he was dying for a chance to get out of his thoughts.

“Mm-hmm,” Will said. “Alright, fine. Wanna go down by the lake?”

“Sure,” Lou said. “Hey, by the way. What happened to your face?” Will blushed a little.

“It was nothi-”

“Oh it was something,” Cecil snickered. Right then and there Will decided he’d have to curse everyone in on this plan.

“I didn’t forget about you abandoning me either, Cecil. I have a list of people who could use some rhyming couplets and you’re on it.” His face paled.

“Uh, Will, buddy, I’m really sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you I promise.”

He gave the son of Hermes a skeptical look. Will didn’t forget about the questioning stares from Lou Ellen either. “Lake?” He asked.

And they all silently headed out to go talk by the lake. No sooner than they had gotten there, Lou Ellen threw them both in. “Hey!” Will gasped, breaking the top of the water. “What was that for?”

“So it is permanent make-up!” She yelled in triumph.

“You didn’t have you throw me in too!” Cecil moaned. “It’s cold!”

We ignored him, and Lou Ellen crossed her arms. Will just blurted out what he must have said twenty times in the last twenty-four hours.

“Would you give it a rest? Kayla dragged me to the Aphrodite cabin, alright? That’s the whole story.” Will hated that everyone had to get in his business. Apparently everyone at camp knew about his crush on Nico. Either Cecil had talked, or he’d been that obvious. Either are equally possible, so he sent a glare over to the boy next to him. _This is your fault._

“What?!” He yelled. “What did I do?”

“Hmph, you could have told me.” Will turned his attention back to Lou Ellen.

“Lou, I haven’t seen you in a few days. Why would I have told you?” Will asked, and was met with a shrug.

“You just could’ve.”

“‘Course I 'just could’ve'…” Will mumbled angrily. “Please tell me you have a blow drying spell I don’t know about.” She only grinned maniacally. Why did Will spend time around annoying people? He just hoped all this wouldn’t go to waste and he could spend time with Nico again soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cuttin' it a bit close here, eh? *sweats nervously*
> 
> So... here you are... I promise the next chapter will be the one everyone's been waiting for. Until then, enjoy your advent!


	3. You're shining like a star, my dear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pining and planing all comes together. The Aphrodite cabin isn't called upon for nothing, though they're prone to total disasters.

When Nico walked into the Big House, he was immediately thrown into loud sappy christmas music and laughter, and he immediately was uncomfortable. He unconsciously scanned the room for Will, before cursing himself for even looking. Will had still been avoiding him. It's been four days since Nico's seen him in the infirmary.

Nico was still getting used to talking to people. A part of him still thought he had to watch his back, no matter what he told Reyna. Or himself. 

And he still had a lot to learn about this age. For example, the surplus of skin that was acceptable to show in public. Why would anyone want to show their stomachs so freely? And seat belts? Once the concept was explained to him, it made sense—but he forgets to put it on every once in a while. Jules Albert isn’t very good at reminders.

So Nico just stood in the back, sipping at his strawberry punch, and looked up.

_Oh._

Nico froze. Across the Big House common room, he could see Will. Normally, Nico would ignore him, especially after the sudden disappearance. This wasn’t the usual Will Solace. His face was striking--perfect cheek bones and rosy lips. His shoulders were set and square in a Christmas sweater that hugged his figure. His expression was the image of nervous determination and… he was staring at Nico as if he was the only thing in the world. 

Nico’s breath hitched, and he averted his eyes to sip at his punch. He couldn’t be more aware of the son of Apollo making his way across the room. Was that song _Kiss you this Christmas_? Will liked that song. He flushed darker and mentally reprimanded himself. Could Nico make a run for it? No, he’d told Reyna he’d give this party a shot. Could he-

Before he could make an escape plan, someone spoke next to him, “Hey.” Nico was just short of jumping.

“Oh, h-hey,” he responded to Will. He metally kicked himself. Hey? Will had ignored him for _four days!_ He planted his feet and was just about to mention that when Will put a hand to the back of his neck nervously.

“Sorry I’ve been avoiding you,” he admitted.

Did he have to make it so hard to hate him? Nico didn’t have any words really, so to save himself from anymore embarrassments, he just glared. When would these butterflies go away?

“I’d try to explain but…” Will’s face flushed scarlet. “I-it’s a long story.” Will looked down at Nico, and Nico was surprised at how much _better_ Will looked up close. “How have you been?”

Nico was staring at Will's freckles, so it took him a second to process the question. “I’m fine. I’ve just been wondering where _you’ve_ been. I thought you hated me,” Nico said. There was a lot of truth in that statement, more than he wanted, and he hoped Will wouldn’t pick up on it. The idiot just grinned.

“You missed me?” Nico scoffed, and thought he heard a muttered “I can’t believe that worked.”

“What?” He asked.

Will flushed again and shook his head, still grinning. “You look good in some color,” he said gesturing to the dark green shirt with a little red lace around the cuffs that Nico was wearing. Nico blushed again. “Do you like the party?” 

Nico gritted his teeth and looked around, meeting a few demigod’s eyes who quickly looked away. “Not really. No one really likes me.”

“I… I don’t think that’s why they’re staring…” Will mumbled. “Um, I think you look like you just need to have a little fun.”

Unwillingly Nico met Will’s sparkling eyes and kept them. Why did he feel this way around this boy? Didn’t he annoy Nico to the depth of his bones? 

“No, Will.”

Will’s face was unreadable for a moment, then his face brightened up. “How about we dance a little bit?”

Nico’s face darkened considerably. “No, Will.”

“Oh, come on!” Will said, grabbing Nico’s hand. A shock came from the contact and he tried to squeeze out of Will’s grip, but the healer’s strength surprised him yet again. “I’m sure you’re a great dancer!”

“Will! I can’t dance!” Nico hissed quietly, as Will lead him into another room. Campers were dancing and laughing everywhere. It was the type of place Nico would have never found himself in six months ago. Might as well start building up his guard now.

“That’s okay, you just have to sway a little bit-” Will was cut off by a bunch of cheers. The two looked around in confusion at the demigods winking and sending thumbs ups around them. Why was everyone staring at them? Was there something behind them? Nico glanced over his shoulder then at Will questioningly. Will’s face turned white and he looked up, seeming to metally curse. Nico also looked up.

Oh. _Oh, no, no, no._ Nico stared in horror at the mistletoe hanging above their heads. Hazel had told him all about the cursed mistletoe.

Honestly he fully intended to shake off Will’s hand and walk away, glaring it off. That wasn’t what happened. While he was looking up, Will quickly for the briefest of moments, pressed his lips to Nico’s. 

Nico’s shot back, but his had lips pressed back just slightly. He couldn’t think anything except, _they all know._ The mistletoe shriveled, and Nico ran as fast as he could out of the party. 

~

Will had imagined their first kiss many times, and he had never thought it could end _so badly._ He mentally freaked out. He had to fix this, he had to fix this, _he had to fix this._ Lacy seemed to be pouting, and she whispered to Valentina who pointed at the door. Mouthing, _Get your boy._ Will didn’t have to be told twice. Thankfully, not many people were focused on the whole thing. Just people swaying and dancing to music Will couldn't hear through his own panic.

What had he done? Did Nico actually not like him after all? Will rushed out of the Big House and glanced around. He need to tell Nico he was sorry, they could just be friends. He wasn’t thinking clearly.

A path of dead grass led to the Hades cabin. At least Nico hadn’t shadow traveled, or risen any undead in the middle of the party. He ran as fast as he could, then knocked on the dark door. The greek fire torches flared furiously, and seemed to blame him.

“Nico?” Will asked. He was met with silence. “Nico are you in here?” Will open the door slowly, scanning the room. He saw a figure pressed against the wall, head in their hands. Will made sure to leave the door open. “Nico I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”

“They all _know_ now,” Nico croaked. Will was taken aback by how broken his voice sounded.

“Know what?” Will crouched next to the son of Hades, and hesitated before letting a hand rest gently on his shoulder.

“They… they _know._ Know…” Nico looked up miserably, gesturing to himself then averting his eyes before gesturing to Will. “ _This._ ”

Will was confused. Know about them? They’d been friends before and there hadn’t been a problem. It was only when he’d kissed him that-oh. Will understood now. Nico had never _come out._ It had always been an assurance to Will that Nico liked boys. He’d never really known, just felt his gaydar pinging. Nico was from the 1940s. In that time they were rounding gays up like cattle.

Will had just kissed him in front of a bunch of people, and Nico didn’t know things had changed. They were all descended from ancient greeks for the Gods’s sake! Maybe not the best first kiss that could have happened. Will felt guilty in more ways than one. How could he have messed up so spectacularly? 

In all of his discoveries, a flare of hope bubbled up; maybe Nico did like him. It wasn't because Will kissed him that he freaked out. Well...it was, but not _specifically-_ Will cut those thoughts.

“Nico… I’m really, really, sorry.” Will said. Nico looked severely on the brink of tears. “I should have asked, I should have remembered, I-” 

Nico shook his head. “You don’t understand, they’ll hate me. They’ll...they’ll hate you!” Nico seemed horrified at his realization. “People don’t _care_ about people like us, they’ll-”

“Nico!” Will said, shaking his shoulder for emphasis. “People aren’t like that anymore. Every single one of those people in that room?” Will met Nico’s eyes and poured so much sincerity into his next words. “They don’t care who you like.”

Nico frowned. “But-”

“No buts. They don’t care at all. Actually, I know for a fact some of them are gay too.” Will was proud to say he cleared up the heartbrokenness on the son of Hades’s face. 

“They are?” Nico asked.

“Yep. And… I guess you could say I am too.” Will smiled nervously. It grated at him that he couldn’t say he was bisexual, but he could always tell Nico later. When the kid wasn’t fearing for his life. There was a lot more labels Will had to fill him in on.

“You are?” Nico’s face might have flushed. In the low light Will couldn’t tell. Time seemed to be slowing as Will remembered the kiss. He had kissed the untouchable Nico di Angelo. And gods, Will wanted to kiss him again.

Will nodded, and drew on every bit of courage he had. “Yeah, um, Nico. I really like you. _Like_ you…” Will fell into a stunned silence, even though the words had come out of his own mouth. _Oh god, Nico doesn’t like me. I’m such an idiot._

“You do?” Nico asked quietly, eyes glinting in the dark. For all the promise of his make-up making Will be the good looking one, Nico looked striking. 

Will swallowed thickly, half heartedly grinning, but nodding. Nico’s lips looked almost too perfect.

Nico almost smiled as he looked away, and Will wouldn’t miss it for the world. “I think I like you too.”

Will was expecting a rush of relief. Instead, butterflies twisted inside his chest, and the words: “Can I kiss you?” were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Most of his practical brain that Chrion had drilled into him, was telling him to leave. He wasn’t think rationally, so get out of there. The other part was staring straight into Nico’s eyes and leaning into the other boy. Nico’s eyebrows were tight with concern, but he felt drawn like he was in a trance. Nico’s eyes fluttered closed, but Will found enough self restraint to wait for a whispered, “yes.”

Then Will cupped Nico’s face and kissed him warmly. The butterflies exploded and he didn’t last a few seconds before beaming from ear to ear. His eyes never fully closed and they picked up on Nico’s smile. It wasn’t almost, it was just barely there, but it was a smile. And Will had put it there. 

Will closed the distance again, giddy on the dark hero in front of him. He silently thanked every person who helped, and prayed to Hades to say he would treat Nico with the kindest respect ever. Other than that, he could think past every contact with Nico, every smile, every breath. When they pulled away and could ever so slowly think again, or at least Will took a while--Nico was a better kisser than he would have thought. Nico looked to the open door and the colored lights from the Big House.

Will didn’t really feel like going back. He pulled Nico into a hug, careful to give him personal space if he wanted to pull away. He didn’t. So Will smiled wide and whispered, “Merry Christmas.”

Nico looked up, and honest to the Gods smiled. “Merry Christmas, Will.”

Will Solace would never question the Christmas eve party ever again. He just sat in nervous, giddy excitement. He had gotten his boy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really fun to write. And I got it in on time! Yay! I hope you readers on the internet liked it... if you did, and you're reading this a one AM... this is your chance to turn off your phone. Sleep, you gremlins. If you are reading this a decent time, here's your dose of Solangelo! Happy holidays!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm not used to posting, but this one should be fun. Not too many chapters so don't worry. Feel free to kick me, stab me, take away my phone, whatever you need to do if I somehow manage to NOT finish this before Christmas. :))


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